"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em," wrote Shakespeare, who could have as easily been talking about some of the royal heroines here. Each card in this set portrays one of the world's most memorable queens, empresses, advisers, concubines, or royal mistresses. And whether she was raised in palaces or in the slaves' quarters, each seized the reigns of power with an aplomb that stole the show, pushing their male contenders into the wings, from the pharaoh who seduced two Roman rulers to the queen who became a symbol of resistance to Hitler during World War II. Not much bigger than a pack of playing cards, the deck contains four dozen attractively decorated cards; use them as flash cards, or for impromptu trivia and quiz games, or simply read them as an unbound book.